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MEMORIAL 



PETER SMITH BYERS, A.M. 



FIRST PUINC'II'AI. f>l Tin-: rUXCHARD FKEE SCHOOL, 



AT HIS FUNERAL, U CHRIST CHURCH, ANDOYER, 



GOOD-FRIDAY, T.M., MAIiClI 21, 185t3. 



BY THE B E C T O R , 



REV. SAMUEL FILLER. D. D, 



" The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall floxirish when he sleeps iu dust." 



PrBLISIlED BY HIS COLLEGE CLASS MATES. 



CAMBRIDGE: 
PRINTED BY ALLEN AND FARNHAM. 

185 6. 



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MEMORIAL 



PETER SMITH BYERS, A.M., 

FIRST PRINCIPAL OF THE PUXCHARD FREE SCHOOL, 

AT HIS FUNERAL, IX CHRIST CHUI^CH, ANDOVER, 

GOOD-FRIDAY, P.M., MARCH 21, 1856. 
BT THE RECTOR, 

EEV. SAMUEL FULLER, D. D. 



' The sweet remembrance of the just 
Shall flourish whea he sleeps in dust."' 



PUBLISHED BY HIS COLLEGE CLASS MATES. 



CAMBRIDGE : 

PRINTED BY ALLEN AND FARNHAM. 

185 6. 



A 






Uiofl 



MEMORIAL. 



The death of a young person awakens peculiar emo- 
tions in our bosoms. We expect that the old will die. 
With them the allotted period of life is spent. The 
sands in their hour-ghiss have run out. Their bodily 
frame, like an exhausted stream without a springhead, 
or like a piece of mechanism from which the motive 
power is taken away, ceases at length to perform its 
functions, and the aged expire by some inherent law of 
their physical existence. Filial respect, fond affection, 
and "hallowed recollections will cause us to mourn their 
departure, and yet we are not disappointed that they do 
not longer stay in this sinful and imperfect condition. 

But when a friend or a relative is in his youth 
snatched by death from our midst, we are, in a measure, 
taken by surprise. He seems to have died too soon. 
He stops before the usual life-journey is ended. His 
hand drops before he has finished the labor of this 
world's pilgrimage. His opening blossoms are blighted 
before fully expanded. His rich and attractive fruit 
falls to the earth before perfectly matured. We are 
startled by the sight. The unexpected occurrence per- 



plexes us. Disappointment as well as grief seizes and 
overshadows our hearts. 

These are the pungent feelings which now pervade 
not only our own stricken breasts, but this whole com- 
munity ; for we are about to carry to an early grave 
one whose brief career as a son, brother, husband, stu- 
dent, teacher, and Christian, has been honorable to him- 
self, gratifying to his family and kindred, useful to 
others, and commendatory of our heaven-born faith 
itself We are soon to bury a respected and beloved 
fellow townsman, whom, on account of his talents, 
attainments, and virtues, we should all have gladly 
retained among us for many a coming year. But a 
mysterious Providence has seen fit to deny our earnest 
wishes, and to blast our dearly cherished anticipa- 
tions — 

'• "Warm with hope, and learning's sacred flame, 
To bless our youth this ardent scholar came. 
Unconquered powers the immortal mind displayed, 
But worn with anxious toil the frame decay'd. 
Pale o'er his books, and in his home retired, 
The martyr student faded and expired. 
O Learning, Taste, and Piety sincere. 
Too early lost, midst duties too severe ! " 

The short life of him who lies before us, devotee of 
knowledge as he was, was marked by few remarkable 
incidents ; and yet in his character and example he has 
furnished a model of scholarly and religious excellence, 
which we heartily recommend to the study and imita- 
tion of every person, but especially of every young 
man. 



Our lamented friend and brother was a native of 
Scotland, having been born in the ancient town of 
Brechin, where he was baptized in the Episcopal 
Church, of which a paternal ancestor was for many 
years the Rector. 

At an early age he manifested a fondness for books, 
and had made striking proficiency in learning, when in 
his ninth year, he came with his parents, younger 
brothers, and only sister, to this town. 

Until he reached the age of sixteen, the only literary 
advantages he enjoyed in this country were such as 
were provided by the district school. But at this time, 
his heart having been, as we must believe, renewed by 
the Holy Spirit, the purpose and aspirations of his soul 
were entirely changed. He strongly desired to receive 
a collegiate education, and this, that he might, as he 
said, be more useful to others and to his precious 
Saviour, whom he now adored and loved w^ith mind 
and heart. 

In July, 1843, it was my delightful privilege to pre- 
sent him to Bishop Eastburn for Confirmation in this 
Church, and from that time to the hour of his death, he 
w^as a faithful, devout, and worthy communicant. 

Soon after, he connected himself with the classical 
department of Phillips Academy in this place, and com^ 
pleted the full course of three years. He afterwards 
passed through the entire course of four years in Har- 
vard University, at Cambridge, where, in 1851, he 
graduated with high honor, being the third scholar in a 
class of sixty-three members. 

In the autumn of this year, he was engaged as an 
Assistant Teacher in the Greek and Latin School, where 



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he had prepared for college. There he continued for 
two years, discharghig the laborious and exhausting 
duties of this station with great credit to himself and 
acknowledged usefulness to the pupils. During most of 
this period he was a devoted teacher in our own Sun- 
day School, where the grateful remembrance of his 
faithful services is still warmly fostered. He also 
frequently in this desk assisted the Hector in reading 
the service ; an acceptable duty, which was congenial 
with his pious tastes, and in accordance with the ulti- 
mate object of his beloved pursuits. 

He had now, by his indefatigable exertions, won 
for himself a wide spread reputation for accomplished 
scholarship, apt and effective teaching, and Christian 
j)rinciples and character ; and discriminating and appre- 
ciating guardians of schools were on all hands eager to 
secure his valuable services. 

In the spring of 1853 he was elected Principal of the 
Abbot Female Seminary in this village, a position, how- 
ever, which he did not long occupy, as he was ap- 
pointed to the like office in the High School of the city 
of Providence. 

There he continued but a single term, since his de- 
clining health induced him to listen to overtures ten- 
dered by the Trustees of the Punchard Free School, 
who, in choosing him its first Principal, showed the 
exalted estimation in which they held him and his 
attainments, by offering him a salary till their building 
should be erected, that he might, by relieving himself 
of all labor and anxiety, have the opportunity of regain- 
ins; his strength. 

But, alas ! the bow of his energies had been too long 



stretched to its utmost tension ; for as we see to-day in 
his wasted and dead form, the steel of liis might w'as 
broken beyond either repair or restoration. For nine 
years of ceaseless apphcation and unyielding toil had 
he permitted the growing desire of knowledge to burn 
without restraint in his bosom, and the increasing flame, 
thousi:li deliii-htfal in its lig;ht and warmth to his en- 
raptured sjoirit, had hopelessly consumed him. 

Our lamented friend was, indeed, a martyr-student. 
As I visited him during his protracted illness, and 
observed his bright eye, his pale visage, his weakened 
frame, and his faltering step, I often in mind applied to 
him those masterly lines of a titled poet upon the death 
of Henry Kirke White, whom our departed scholar in 
his devotion to study, in the constituents of his humble 
and fervid piety, and in his untimely end, strongly 
resembled : — 

" Unhappy White ! while hfe was in its spring, 
And thy young muse just waved her joyous wing, 
The spoiler came ; and, all thy promise fair, 
Has sought the grave, to sleep forever there. 
Oh ! what a noble heart was here undone. 
When Science' self destroyed her favorite son ! 
Yes, she too much indulged thy fond pux'suit, 
She sowed the seeds, but Death has reaped the fruit. 
'T was thine own genius gave the final blow. 
And helped to plant the wound that laid thee low : 
So the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain, 
No more through rolling clouds to soar again. 
Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart. 
And winged the shaft that quivered in his heai't. 
Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel. 
He nursed the pinion which impelled the steel ; 
While the same plumage that had warmed his nest, 
Drank the last life-drop of his bleeding breast ! " 



Our deceased friend remarked that the unexpected 
fiiihire of his health, the frustration of his cherished 
plans, and the extinguishment of all his earthly hopes, 
was to him, at first, a severe and excruciating trial. 
The mood of his chastened soul at such times may have 
been similar to that so feelingly portrayed by the 
young bard of Nottingham, when he thus exclaims : — 

" Fifty years hence, and who will hear of Henry ? 
Oh ! none ; another busy brood of beings 
Will shoot up in the interim, and none 
Will hold him in remembrance. I shall sink, 
As sinks a stranger in the crowded streets 
Of busy London : — Some short bustle 's caused, 
A few inquiries, and the crowds close in, 
And all 's forgotten. On my grassy grave 
The men of future times will careless tread, 
And read my name upon the sculptured stone ; 
Nor will the sound familiar to their ears, 
Recall my banished memory. I did hope 
For better things ! I hoped I should not leave 
The earth without a vestige ; — Fate decrees 
It shall be otherwise, and I submit. 
Henceforth, oh world, no more of thy desires ! 
No more of hope ! the wanton vagrant Hope ! 
I abjure all. Now other cares engross me, 
And my tired soul, with emulative haste, 
Looks to its God, and prunes its wings for Heaven." 

\. 

Fifty years hence, and who will hear of Byers ? To 
this thrilling question, inspiration returns a cheering 
answer, " The righteous shall be in everlasting remem- 
brance." Our Christian brother, whose premature 
death we deplore, tvill not he forgotten. Imperishably has 
he by his example, his labors, his virtues, his Christian 



graces, associated his name with our town, with our 
schools, and with tliis Church and con2:reo;ation. 

In the district, where he for years attended the com- 
mon school, he will be remembered as the conscientious 
pupil and good boy, who diligently improved all the 
advantages of learning with which he was furnished. 

In the venerable and celebrated institution, where he 
was both a pupil and a teacher, he will be remembered 
as an inquisitive and untiring scholar, and as an intel- 
ligent, judicious, winning, and efficient instructor. As 
a teacher, his excellent qualities were, indeed, singular. 
He not only thoroughly mastered the subject he was 
impressing upon others, but he possessed the rare and 
yet essential faculty of deeply and constantly sympa- 
thizing with the learner ; placmg his own mind in the 
situation of the inquirer, seeing and appreciating his 
difficulties, and patiently and gently striving to remove 
them. 

Both as a scholar and as a teacher, he will be 
remembered as the bright youth and the investigating 
man, who loved truth, wherever found, for its own sake, 
recognizing it as the offspring of God himself, and 
therefore to be welcomed to his bosom, and embraced 
by his affections as the beloved child of the Almighty 
Father of all wisdom. 

As the Free School which is now rising in our midst, 
shall open its doors to waiting candidates for its privi- 
leges, and shall \\\ the long vista of the future enroll 
upon its lists its scores and hundreds of accomplished 
graduates, Mr. Byers will be remembered as the first 
chosen of the overseers to initiate and shape its event- 
ful history. 



10 



In this cono-rearation he will be remembered as the 
courageous and consistent Christian, who in his youth 
feared the Lord, and loved and obeyed his Saviour; 
who was one of the first among the young to offer 
himself for confirmation and to commune at the table 
of Christ's body and blood; and who, the longer he 
lived, the more understandingly approved and heartily 
loved the evangelical doctrines, conservative standards, 
and spiritual formularies of our scriptural and primitive 
Church. 

Such delight did he take in remembering our 
Redeemer in his Holy Supper, that this very week he 
was intending to partake of this sacrament next Sun- 
day, the festival of our Lord's resurrection. But he 
who so often knelt with us at our communion seasons, 
is now, as we trust, an accepted and rejoicing guest at 
a higher feast, even the marriage supper of the Lamb 
in heaven. 

As a Church, we shall also remember him, as the first 
young man, who, from our congregation, desired to 
become a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. That Mr. 
Byers aspired to the ministry of reconciliation, that this 
sacred office was the endeared object to which all his 
pursuits, acquisitions, and desires tended, was well 
known to his intimate friends, who could not but cor- 
dially approve his noble purpose, and anticipate for him 
a ministerial career of distinguished usefulness. 

He will likewise be remembered as the submissive, 
patient, praying, and confiding disciple, who, when he 
perceived that the hand of God was severing him from 
this world, girded his loins and trimmed his lamp anew, 
in order to be completely ready for the summons 



11 

calling hiin away, whenever it might come. The last 
two years of his life he did little else besides study the 
Scriptures and commune with his Saviour in fervent 
devotion ; the Bible and the Prayerbook being always 
at his side, and almost the only volumes he latterly 
opened. To those whose privilege it was to watch his 
Christian progress, it was most apparent, that he was 
constantly growing both in divine knowledge and in 
conformity to the image of Christ, and therefore in 
meetness for the holiness and peace of Paradise. 

His bereaved family and relatives will remember and 
treasure his Christian advice, and the earnest supplica- 
tions he for so long a time oflered in their circle, and 
on their behalf 

Remembered, moreover, will he be, for the calm and 
triumphant manner in which he passed through the 
valley of the shadow of death. For weeks he had 
expressed a glowing desire to depart, and to be with 
Christ; remarking only last Sunday, "With what 
rapture will the disembodied spirit enter upon the bliss 
and glory of the heavenly world!" When on the 
morning that he died, he was told that he could not 
live through the day, he replied with unbroken com- 
posure, "It is all right; my work is done:" while the 
last whisper that escaped his lips becoming mute 
in death was this endearing ejaculation, "Precious 
Saviour ! " 

Surely, such a relative, such a scholar, such a citizen, 
such a man, such a Christian, ougld to he had in everlasting 
remembrance. For myself, I can only say, that while my 
life lasts I can never fors^et him. He is one of the 



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brightest stars that has arisen and shone upon the path 
of my ministry, cheering me in my labors, and beckon- 
ing my feet towards the throne of God and the Lamb. 
Many Christian young men have I known, and known 
them intimately, but in very few, if in any, have I 
found intellectual endowments, attractive moral quali- 
ties, Christian tempers and graces, and pious habits, so 
equably blended and delightfully harmonized. 

Similar is the impression he has left upon the mind 
of every person who associated with him familiarly. 
Says one of his class mates, " In his threefold character, 
as a scholar, a gentleman, and a Christian, he had the 
entire respect and confidence of all our class. If I were 
to single out any one, who had a more uniform and 
higher respect from all, and who had a higher influence 
than any other upon the class, I should certainly single 
him. Until the grave shall have closed over the last of 
his friends and class mates, the direct influence of his 
Christian example will live upon earth." 

Will not, then, all of you, and more particularly all 
the young, ever remember him ? Some of you have 
enjoyed the blessings of his instructions. Be grateful 
to God for this flivor, and remember and practise the 
pious counsels you received from his lips. Remember 
and follow the excellent example he has left you. 
Like him be careful to improve the numerous advan- 
tages which are yours in this land of heavenly light and 
Christian privileges. Like him, remember and love 
your Creator and Saviour in the days of your youth. 
Like him, learn to esteem and cultivate knowledge 
and goodness for their own sake. Like him, live to do 



13 



good to your fellow men, and to bring their precious 
souls to Christ. Like him, prepare to die and to meet 
your Judge ; for much sooner than you expect, will 
your own lifeless body rest where his now does, and 
your soul, either laden with the burden of unforgiven 
and unsubdued sin, or bearing the holy likeness of his 
divine and incarnate Son, will have gone to God who 
gave it. Strive and pray so to follow in the footsteps 
of Christ's most perfect life, and so serve his Church 
and the world, that when you die, the survivors may 
delight to embalm your memory, angels may engrave 
your name indelibly in the Lamb's book of life, and he 
himself in the hour of your departure may answer your 
dying prayer, " Lord, now in thy kingdom remember 
me/' by fidfilling to your unspeakable joy and felicity 
his most consoling assurance, " To-day shalt thou be 
with me in Paradise." 

" Lord, remember how short my time is. remem- 
ber that my life is wind. Remember not the sins of my 
youth, nor my transgressions; but according to thy 
mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake." 

Our importunate plea for the divine favor we pro- 
long in words which were very dear to him who now in 
our presence sleeps in Jesus : — 

" Rock of Ages ! cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee ; 
Let the water and the blood, 
From thy side a healing flood, 
Be of sin the double cure, 
Save from wrath, and make me pure. 



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" While I draw this fleeting breiith, 
When mine eyelids close in death, 
When I rise to worlds unknown, 
And behold thee on thy throne ; 
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee! " 



APTENDIX. 



The subject of the preceding memorial was the eldest child 
of James and Mary Smith Byers, and was born September 12, 
1827. He and his brother James were baptized by the Rev. 
William West; his brothers John and Joseph, and his sister, 
Agnes Ferguson, by the Rev. David Moir, afterwards Bishop 
of Brechin, one of the dioceses still existing in Scotland. 

His first and only teacher in Brechin was Mr. James 
Hebenton, who for many years kept a private school. 

His grandfather, James Byers, the father of our respected 
fellow-citizen, James Byers, was the third who, in a direct 
line, bore the name of James, and also the first of the family 
who, from the Presbyterians, conformed to the Episcopal 
Church. He died in 1846, aged 73. His father died in 1833, 
at the age of 84. 

The third James Byers married Miss Jane Sevwright, 
daughter of Robert and Ann (Jack) Sevwright, and niece of 
the Rev. Norman Sevwright, who, for some forty years, was 
the esteemed and able Rector of the English Episcopal 
Church in Brechin. This clergyman employed his pen in the 
stirring controversies of those trying times, and, in a discus- 
sion with Bishop Skinner of Aberdeen, published a volume 
upon the differences between the English and Scotch Epis- 
copal churches. He died about the year 1780. 

His father, who was also named Norman, lived at Money- 
musk, on the river Dee, and about sixteen miles from the city 



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of Aberdeen. Besides Norman, Jun., and Robert, he had fonr 
other sons, the names of three of whom are still remembered, 
William, Charles, and George. 

After the battle of Sheriff Muir, in 1715, the father of the 
elder Norman Sevwright lost his lands in that neighborhood, 
as a forfeiture for his sympathies with the Pretender, James 
III. His family being in consequence scattered, at least one 
of his sons established himself on the Dee. 

Robert Sevwright, who for many years was chorister in the 
EpiscojDal Church in Brechin, was eleven years old at the 
time the battle of CuUoden was fought, in the year 1745. 
He died in 1808. His wife, Ann, daughter of Alexander 
Jack, was five years old at the time of the battle, and remem- 
bered the passing of the Duke of Cumberland through the 
town of Brechin, on his march towards the Highlands. She 
died in 1824, aged 84. From the earliest days of the Reforma- 
tion both the Sevwright and Jack families were Protestant 
Episcopalians. 

Mary, the mother of P. S. Byers, died in the triumphs of 
the Christian faith, February 7, 1855. She was the only 
daughter of Peter and Janet (Middleton) Smith; and her 
brothers are Messrs. James, John, and Peter Smith, whose 
names are inseparably connected with the mechanical, manu- 
facturing, and religious enterprise and prosperity of Andover. 

November 24th, 1853, Mr. P. S. Byers was married to 
Miss Sarah, daughter of Oliver and Catherine Underbill, of 
Ipswich, Mass. 

At his funeral, Messrs. Eaton, Wardwell, and Packard, 
teachers in Phillips Academy, Mr. Dickerman, a former 
school mate, Messrs. Clarke, S. A. Green, and Haynes, col- 
lege class mates, and Mr. Powers, acted as bearers. 



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